Rubio says ‘zero support’ from Gulf nations ‘for any sort of toll or fees’ on Strait of Hormuz

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that there is “zero support” from Gulf nations “for any sort of toll or fees” on the Strait of Hormuz.

“There is zero support among the Gulf countries for any sort of toll or fees or anything that charges for the use of international waters,” Rubio told reporters in Bahrain.

He said he had a “really good meeting with the Gulf countries,” adding that “they shared with us some very concrete concerns, ideas.”

“As we enter these negotiations (with Iran) at both the technical and political levels, and we want them to be involved,” he said, adding that the US “will not be making any decisions or commitments that in any way undermines the prosperity, stability, or security of our goal partners.”

He said that a $300-billion reconstruction fund for Iran was not discussed with Gulf countries, saying that “that’s way down the road, and that’s something you know that will be dealt with at the appropriate time in this process.”

Commenting on the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, Rubio said: “We are very close in our hopes of getting a commitment of intent between the two countries that I think begin to outline a promising future.”

“It will be a process, it will take some time, it will take a lot of work, but I can tell you that for the first time in 30 years the sovereign government of Lebanon is speaking to the government, Israel, directly,” he said.